Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 199

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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199. You should have done your job properly.

Nissan Motor Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan.
Ever since the dollar-yen exchange rate broke through 100 yen, Moriyama’s days as deputy director had been nothing but a continuous nightmare.
The worst possible scenario had unfolded—the option he had liquidated before the contract termination had been triggered, and he desperately prayed that the yen would recover and strengthen, even just once.
But cruelly, contrary to Moriyama’s wishes, the yen’s value not only failed to rebound; it continued to plummet relentlessly with each passing hour.
Moriyama had suggested multiple times that they liquidate the option immediately before suffering further exchange losses, but Yamamoto remained unmoved.
It was a shallow attempt to reduce losses by settling the option when the yen recovered, but to Moriyama, it was nothing but a futile endeavor.
The Japanese Government was issuing massive amounts of government bonds annually to recover from the devastating Great Kobe Earthquake, and more importantly, now that the United States Government and the Federal Reserve had shifted to a strong dollar policy, the likelihood of the yen’s value rising again was significantly low.
Yet despite this, Yamamoto clung to a hopeless hope, trying to reduce his own responsibility should the exchange losses from the option contract become finalized.
Naturally, the more he did so, the deeper the situation sank into the mire.
As a result, even Moriyama, who had been struggling to resolve the situation by any means, had now reached a point of half-resignation and acceptance.
With losses mounting day by day, I had come to dread and despise even the breaking of dawn.

“Good morning, sir.”

Following a habit of over a decade, Moriyama woke, tied his necktie, boarded a packed commuter train filled with people, and arrived at the office, acknowledging his employees’ greetings perfunctorily before taking his seat.
Then, setting aside all other matters, I turned on the computer first and waited with a tense expression for the foreign exchange market to open.
Shortly after, at the appointed time, the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market opened.

[USD/JPY 103.89 (+0.47%)]

As the yen fell again from the start, Moriyama clutched at his aching stomach.

“Sigh.”

It seemed like today would be another difficult day.
I opened the desk drawer and took out the antacid I had started taking recently, placing it in my mouth.
My wife had told me to see a doctor, but knowing the cause well, I simply acknowledged her and continued taking the medication.
Sure enough, despite some minor fluctuations, the yen’s value continued to decline gradually.
The thought suddenly occurred to me—what if I had liquidated the option immediately when it first broke through 100 yen without hesitation? But Moriyama simply shook his head weakly.

“It’s already in the past. Clinging to regret only amplifies the disappointment.”

Sitting in his chair, I held my breath and silently prayed—begged, even—that the dollar-yen rate would not breach 104 yen.
But unfortunately, fortune favored neither Nissan Motor nor me.
As the buying and selling forces engaged in a fierce battle, the dollar-yen exchange rate that had been creeping upward finally crossed the 104 yen threshold just before noon.

[USD/JYP 104.03]

“Ah….”
“So it comes to this.”

Sighs erupted from various corners of the office—from employees who, like me, had been watching the exchange rate with bated breath.
And as I gazed at the rate displayed on the monitor, the world seemed to spin.
Barely maintaining my grip on consciousness as the rate breached 104 yen, I realized that in just half a day, my foreign exchange losses had swelled by millions of dollars more, and I released a sigh so deep it felt as though the earth itself was collapsing beneath me.
At that moment, a female secretary in company uniform approached cautiously and spoke to me, gauging my mood.

“Excuse me, sir.”
“What is it?”

I lifted my head weakly and asked.

“The president wants you to come to his office right now.”
“The president’s office?”
“Yes.”

I let out a groan and cradled my head in both hands.
Of course, President Kuroda Hisamoto would be aware of the options contract with Eldorado Fund and would certainly be monitoring the dollar-yen exchange rate movements.

‘It’s finally here.’

I nodded with a resigned expression.

“Understood.”

The female secretary, noticing how haggard I looked, gazed at me with concern before bowing slightly and returning to her desk.

“Sigh.”

Moriyama rose to his feet, grabbed the jacket draped over the back of his chair, and left the office with heavy steps.
As he stepped out of the elevator onto the corridor where the executive offices were located, the plush carpet beneath his feet welcomed him.
Laying such expensive carpeting throughout the hallway must have cost a fortune.
As Moriyama entered the anteroom with such idle thoughts, the Female Secretary stood up from her desk and spoke.

“He’s waiting for you, so you may go right in.”

Standing before the door, Moriyama took a deep breath, then raised one hand and knocked lightly.
He then grasped the handle and opened the door, stepping into the president’s office.
There, on the sofa across from him, sat Yamamoto with a visibly tense expression.
Moriyama’s expression flickered with slight surprise, but he quickly gathered his thoughts.

‘Of course the person responsible for this mess would be here.’

He then bowed respectfully toward Kuroda Hisamoto, the president of Nissan Motor, who sat in the center seat with a furrowed brow and one leg crossed.

“You called for me, so I came.”

President Kuroda looked at Moriyama, then gestured with his chin toward the empty sofa on the left.

“Sit there.”

His voice carried unmistakable displeasure.
It was understandable—a single mistake in an options contract had resulted in foreign exchange losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
As Moriyama cautiously took the empty seat, reading the room carefully, President Kuroda spoke first with impatient irritation.

“The dollar-yen exchange rate exceeded 104 yen today.”
“….”

Both Yamamoto and Moriyama kept their mouths shut, staring at the floor like criminals.
President Kuroda, regarding both men with displeasure, soon turned his gaze toward Yamamoto.

“If I recall correctly, you told me last time that the rate would absolutely never exceed 104 yen. How do you explain this!”

Yamamoto swallowed hard and hastily began making excuses.

“The yen did drop, but it’s only a temporary phenomenon. It will soon return to normal.”

President Kuroda leaned back against the sofa and regarded Yamamoto with cold, sunken eyes.

“So you’re saying that under normal circumstances, the yen would rise below 100?”
“That is….”

Yamamoto glanced nervously at Kuroda Hisamoto’s expression, studying it intently.

“Even if reaching 100 yen proves difficult, there will certainly come a moment when the exchange rate becomes more favorable than it is now. If we liquidate the options at that point, we can minimize our losses.”

He tried desperately to convince Kuroda Hisamoto, but it was a futile effort.
Kuroda Hisamoto’s trust in Yamamoto had already plummeted through the floor and descended into the basement, so no matter how plausible his words sounded, they fell on deaf ears.
Kuroda Hisamoto, listening to the explanation, suddenly raised his eyebrows and slammed his palm hard against the armrest of the sofa where he sat.

“You said the exact same thing last time, and the result was the complete opposite!”

At his sudden outburst, Yamamoto flinched and shrank his shoulders, closing his mouth.

“Tsk!”

Kuroda Hisamoto, regarding him with contempt, turned his head and cast his gaze toward Moriyama, who sat in silence.

“Moriyama.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think the exchange rate will do?”

Moriyama hesitated before answering and glanced sideways at Yamamoto across from him.
Noticing this reaction, Kuroda Hisamoto frowned and spoke.

“Don’t worry about anything else. Just tell me your honest opinion.”
“…Yes.”

Moriyama hesitated for a moment, but then steeled himself with the conviction that he could not allow the situation to deteriorate further.

“In my judgment, the yen will fall further rather than rebound. The possibility of a recovery is extremely low.”

The moment he finished speaking, Yamamoto’s eyes widened in alarm as he glared at him.

“Moriyama! That makes no sense whatsoever.”

Yamamoto leaned forward urgently and spoke.

“This fellow doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Just as tides have their ebb and flow, exchange rates don’t move in only one direction—they fluctuate. There will certainly come an opportunity to reduce our losses!”
“Of course that’s true, but looking at the exchange rate charts over the past few months, I can see the downside floor keeps getting lower while the upside remains wide open. So to minimize losses, liquidating the options contracts right now would be the best course of action.”

Yamamoto, apparently not expecting to be contradicted, glared at him fiercely with a shocked expression.

“That’s enough. Silence!”

Kuroda Hisamoto’s cold voice cut between the two men.

“You dare raise your voice and act recklessly before me? Do you think I’m a fool?”

Yamamoto immediately realized his mistake and bowed his head in apology.

“I’m… I’m terribly sorry.”

But it was already too late.
Kuroda Hisamoto’s face twisted with displeasure, his expression darkening.

“Your predictions have been wrong repeatedly, and you’ve inflicted massive losses on this company through that absurd options contract. Moriyama’s judgment is far more trustworthy than yours.”

Though humiliated, Yamamoto could say nothing in response—his guilt was too great. His face merely flushed crimson.
Watching him, Kuroda Hisamoto spoke with cold finality.

“You know better than anyone how much damage this company has suffered because of you.”
“….”
“I’ve arranged a position for you at Yamada Bearing. Starting next month, you’ll transfer there and continue serving the company.”

Yamada Bearing was precisely what its name suggested—a first-tier supplier to Nissan Motor, providing various bearings for automobiles.
With nearly a year remaining in his tenure as Finance Director, being sent to a supplier company was a clear demotion.

“P-President…”

Yamamoto’s face drained of all color as he clung to Kuroda Hisamoto desperately.

“Please reconsider, just this once. Think of all the years I’ve worked for this company. I beg you!”

But Kuroda Hisamoto turned away from him with icy indifference.

“I even arranged for you to move to a subsidiary company—that was the utmost consideration I could show you.”
“But….”
“You should have done your job properly. Because of you, my reputation has been dragged through the mud.”

Kuroda Hisamoto’s eyes and tone were saturated with irritation.
He wasn’t addressing a company executive—he was dismissing an inconvenient nuisance.

“I have nothing more to say, so get out.”

Kuroda Hisamoto turned his head away sharply with cold indifference.
It was an unmistakable refusal—he would hear nothing else.
Yamamoto opened his mouth to speak, but seeing that gesture, he closed it again and rose with a defeated, lifeless expression.

“…I understand.”
“Since you’ll have much to arrange for your transfer, you needn’t come to the office starting tomorrow.”

At those cold words devoid of any sympathy, Yamamoto clenched his teeth.
It was like being slapped on the cheek while already crying—the cruelest form of dismissal.

“…Yes.”

Moriyama watched Yamamoto’s retreating figure as he left the executive office, his expression heavy with melancholy.
As the door closed, Kuroda Hisamoto clicked his tongue in disdain and spoke to Moriyama, who sat quietly.

“You said the options contract was with the Eldorado Fund, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”

Moriyama straightened his posture immediately, his entire body tense.

“Handle the negotiations with them in Yamamoto’s place and liquidate the options.”

Moriyama answered in a slightly strained voice at Kuroda Hisamoto’s command.

“Understood.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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